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Date: 14 April 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A CHURCH THAT WON'T BE SILENCED!
Australia and the Asia Pacific is about to embrace one of
the biggest coordinated gatherings of Christian social justice
groups in recent memory. Gathering around the theme of 'New
Pentecost' in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland and Bangkok,
the meetings will climax with a one day event and evening
public lecture in Sydney titled "A Church that Won't
be Silenced!" on Pentecost Sunday, 15 May 2005.
The keynote speaker for this gathering will be Francisco
('Chico') Whitaker, a leading social activist and thinker
from Brazil and a key founder of the World Social Forum -
a civil society meeting that attracts 150,000 participants
annually. Mr Whitaker has worked with Bishop Helder Camara
and Paulo Freire and is now a member of the Executive Secretariat
of the Brazilian Catholic Bishops' Justice and Peace Commission.
Respondents will include Phil Glendenning, director of the
Edmund Rice Centre, Rev. Dr. Dorothy McRae McMahon, retired
Uniting Church Minister, and Fr. Michael Whelan, director
of the Aquinas Academy. Julie Morgan from the Franciscan Justice
and Peace will facilitate.
The forums are part of a pilot project to promote diversity
and create an enduring space for church groups to support
one another so that all might participate more actively in
the political life.
Sponsors of New Pentecost include the Australian Catholic
Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs (ACMICA), Australian
Catholic University (ACU), Edmund Rice Centre, Pax Christi
(NSW, Qld, NZ), Franciscan Justice and Peace Office, Dominican
Sisters of Eastern Australia, Young Christian Workers, Cardijn
Lay Community (Thailand), and Young People for Development
(YPD).
Full details and registration call the New Pentecost Forum
secretariat care of Newtown Parish on +61 2 95573197 or visit:
http://www.newpentecost.com.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Minh Nguyen on +61 403 181 586
or email - 
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